violin

American  

[vahy-uh-lin] / ˌvaɪ əˈlɪn /

noun

1. the treble instrument of the family of modern bowed instruments, held nearly horizontal by the player's arm with the lower part supported against the collarbone or shoulder.

2. a violinist or part for a violin.

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violin British  

/ ˌvaɪəˈlɪn /

noun

1. a bowed stringed instrument, the highest member of the violin family, consisting of a fingerboard, a hollow wooden body with waisted sides, and a sounding board connected to the back by means of a soundpost that also supports the bridge. It has two f-shaped sound holes cut in the belly. The instrument, noted for its fine and flexible tone, is the most important of the stringed instruments. It is held under the chin when played. Range: roughly three and a half octaves upwards from G below middle C

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violin Cultural  

1. The most familiar and highest-pitched instrument of the strings. A typical symphony orchestra has more than two dozen violinists.

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Etymology

Origin of violin

1570–80; < Italian violino, equivalent to viol ( a ) ( viola ¹ ) + -ino diminutive suffix

Example Sentences

Irish pipes, bouzouki, violin and fiddle also feature in the performance alongside an oud - a stringed instrument often described as similar to the European lute - and Middle Eastern percussion.

From BBC

The ancient steps creak like some evil violin.

From Literature

I especially dug the title track, which felt like the soundtrack to a hero strutting into battle before frantically spiraling into a storm of violins.

From Los Angeles Times

As a child, John Forté was a violin prodigy from a bad part of Brooklyn who earned a scholarship to an exclusive private high school in the Northeast.

From Los Angeles Times

Onstage, the band playing was invisible even to her own eyes, a trumpet and violin floating several feet above the ground, and a drum set tapping out its own beat.

From Literature

Related Words

• fiddle